Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu reimposes national lockdown following rise in COVID-19 cases

Following a drastic resurgence in new COVID-19 cases and fearing the consequences of mass gatherings during the upcoming holiday season, Israel’s cabinet decided to reimpose national lockdown on Sunday, September 13. The lockdown has been extended for three weeks and with the announcement, Israel has become the first country in the world to reimpose national lockdown due to fear of COVID-19.

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Lockdown to last till October 9

The lockdown is scheduled to begin the Friday following the announcement which is September 18; coincidently, it is also the Jewish New Year. The lockdown will last till October 9 and during the reimposed lockdown, shops, schools and restaurants will remain closed and Israelis will have to contend with restrictions on movement.

In his statement that was nationally broadcast, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the goal of the lockdown was to contain the spread of COVID-19. He added that he was aware that the fresh lockdown comes with a ‘heavy price’ for the people. The first national lockdown in Israel managed to substantially reduce the spread of COVID-19 but wrecked the Israeli economy and caused unemployment to skyrocket.

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As per reports, one of the reasons for the lockdown was the fast of Yom Kippur which usually results in large family gatherings and people travelling to synagogues. Officials feared that these mass gatherings would further increase the spread of the virus.

After October 9, the authorities will review the situation and then take appropriate action. The decision to reimpose national lockdown is reported to not been received well by many. Housing Minister Yaakov Litzman, who served as health minister during the initial outbreak of the virus, has already resigned over the decision of the Israeli cabinet to go ahead with the national lockdown. Israel has currently recorded more than 150,000 virus cases and a little over 1,000 virus-related deaths.

The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 28 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 900,000.

As per the John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the United States has reported a total of at least 6.5 million positive virus cases and has a death toll of more than 193,000. The US currently has the highest number of reported cases in the world, making it the epicentre of the deadly virus.

(Input Credit AP)

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